Monday, September 24, 2007

Canon EOS-5D Review

Built around a 12.8-megapixel (effective) CMOS sensor, covering the same area as a 35mm film frame, the Canon EOS 5D provides "full frame" digital SLR technology at a much more affordable price point than ever before. "Affordable" is definitely a relative term though, as the Canon 5D's $3500 retail price (at announcement) still puts it beyond the reach of all but the most well-heeled photo enthusiasts and professionals. At the same time, our lens-testing work over on the SLRgear.com site has shown that full-frame cameras like the Canon EOS 5D place much greater demands on lens quality than sub-frame designs like the Canon 20D and Digital Rebel series. -- If you're seriously considering a Canon 5D for your photo kit, you'd better budget several times its cost for the highest-quality "L"-series lenses that you'll need to take full advantage of its potential. The Canon 5D will deliver incredible image quality when paired with excellent lenses, but will quickly expose every flaw in lower-grade glass.

As you'd expect of a high-end digital SLR from Canon, the EOS 5D boasts a full range of photographic controls and custom functions: Read on for all the details, and for a thorough dissection of its imaging characteristics.

Operates in "shooting priority mode," meaning the camera does not need to be set in "play" mode to view pictures. Pictures can be viewed in between shots, and even if camera is displaying a picture or in a menu, half-pressing the Shutter button prepares it to take a photo immediately.

Continuous Shooting mode captures as many as 60 images as fast as three frames per second.

Variable white balance with Auto, six fixed presets, Custom (reads from a shot of a neutral gray or white card), a color temperature setting, and White Balance Correction and Auto Bracketing modes.